Sugar-sweetened beverages tied to cardiovascular risk in women

Women who drink higher levels of sugar-sweetened beverages like soda may significantly more likely to need a prescription to buy Lipitor to treat high cholesterol levels, according to a new study presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions.

A team of researchers from the University of Oklahoma found that women who drank two or more sugar-sweetened beverages per day were four times as likely to develop high cholesterol as women who drank one or less.

Furthermore, the results showed that individuals consuming the most soda and other sweetened drinks were significantly more likely to develop diabetes and heart disease, compared to those who drank less. These risk were present even in women who didn't necessarily gain much weight.

"Most people assume that individuals who consume a lot of sugar-sweetened drinks have an increase in obesity, which in turn, increases their risk for heart disease and diabetes," said lead researcher Christina Shay. "Although this does occur, this study showed that risk factors for heart disease and stroke developed even when the women didn't gain weight."

She added that the next step would be to determine exactly how excessive sugar-sweetened beverage consumption leads to increased cardiovascular risk.